PopCultHQ received an advance review copy of the ROCKO’S MODERN AFTERLIFE Vol. 1 TPB from KaBOOM!, an imprint of BOOM! Studios. Available Wednesday, January 8th, the creative team for this trade paperback features writing from Anthony Burch, art from Mattia di Meo, colors by Francesco Segala, and lettering from Jim Campbell.
Here’s PopCultHQ’s spoiler-free review of…
ROCKO’S MODERN AFTERLIFE Vol. 1 TPB
Writer: Anthony Burch
Artist: Mattia di Meo
Colorist: Francesco Segala
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Cover Artists: Ian McGinty w/ Joven Paul
Rocko returns in this new limited series from writer Anthony Burch (Borderlands 2) and Mattia Di Meo (Ben 10: For Science!) for a spooky look at everyone’s favorite wallaby!
Something is turning the good people of O-Town into mindless zombies and Rocko wants nothing to do with it. He barricades himself and Spunky in their home and is determined to outlast the hoards outside.
But desperate times calls for desperate measures when Rocko’s best friend Heffer becomes infected, Rocko will have to risk it all to save his friends and his city.
Collects the complete 4-issue series!
PopCultHQ’s Comic Book Review:
ROCKO’S MODERN AFTERLIFE Vol. 1 TPB
Writing: Anthony Burch is many things: accomplished actor, video game writer, creator of the popular comedy web series ‘Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin’?’. But when it comes to writing and bringing the world of Rocko to life on the comic book page, he doesn’t quite hit the mark. It’s not to say that Anthony’s script is bad, just that once things fall into place, it goes from a scary zombie-apocalypse, to feeling very trite, cliché and a bit preachy at one point. One thing is evident though, Anthony love’s Rocko, as do so many others and while it shows, he may just want to channel that a bit more when writing such a comic.
Art: Mattia’s artwork is magnificent. It fully captures the spirit of Rocko and his world, in a way that brings to mind both the original show and its Netflix special/sequel. Rocko, Heffer, Filburt, Spunky and the rest of O-Town seem to leap right off the page and into our lives once more. And when things take a turn for the horrible and zombie-infested, the artwork gets darker. The linework has a sharper edge to it, as if to accentuate that beloved O-Town has gone over to the zombie-side of things. Mattia has nailed it with the art, very prime stuff.
Colors: Francesco Segala, a name that shall sound throughout the ages in the field of coloring. Paired with Mattia’s artwork, it is a veritable match made in comic book heaven. The colors pair nicely with the art, creating an awesome mashup that is straight out of the 90’s. As with Mattia’s art, when the zombie’s start coming in full force, the colors from Francesco go over into the darker aspect of things in a major way. Gritty is the best to describe the shift on color tonalities, the coloring gets grittier thanks to Francesco.
Letters: Jim Campbell serves up some superior and superb lettering for this series. For a man who has been in the business of lettering comics for a very long time, his work on Rocko is splendid. There is an interesting usage of certain words being in bold, as if to emphasis their importance and relevance to the plot, a particular page of art or because it makes that particular word more exciting. Nevertheless, Jim does a bang-up job with his lettering, truly masterful stuff.
Rocko and his friends make a return to O-Town in this fun, scary and excitement-filled collection. While Anthony Burch’s script is somewhat lacking, there is heart behind his words. Mattia, Francesco and Jim all add their touches to the book, giving O-Town life, and also a bad case of a zombie outbreak. Fans of Rocko will enjoy the comic, though the ending will have some scratching their heads.
4.5 out of 5 Stars
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